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The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) and the HKSI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to foster dual career pathways for elite athletes’ education and promote research collaboration.  

The MOU was signed by Prof Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, HKIEd President, and Dr Trisha Leahy, HKSI Chief Executive, with the signatures witnessed by Mr Tsang Tak-sing, Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Pang Yiu-kai, HKIEd Council Chairman, and Mr Carlson Tong Ka-shing, HKSI Chairman.

Delivering his welcome address, Mr Pang said that “we at HKIEd believe in the vision of providing university education opportunities for our elite athletes who devote the prime of their lives to strenuous training at the expense of their academic studies. Working closely together, both HKIEd and HKSI see the need and importance of introducing a well-structured mechanism in balancing the education and training needs of elite athletes and coaches.”

Mr Tong said that the HKSI, as the Government’s elite sports training delivery agent, has been championing the whole-person development of elite athletes, something that has attracted growing public interest in recent years. “The HKSI attaches great importance to the provision of comprehensive support in promoting the holistic development and well-being of athletes. The HKSI has different schemes tailored to cater for their educational, personal, and social development needs and the HKIEd collaboration is a key milestone in providing athletes with flexible access to tertiary education”, he said.

The MOU signed today covers a range of collaboration in athlete education, including the admission of elite athletes and coaches into HKIEd’s undergraduate programmes through a special scheme.

In the area of research, both institutions will explore possible cooperation in projects pertaining to sport sciences and physical education, such as the psychology of sports and exercise, sports biomechanics and sports traumatology. Other initiatives will include joint efforts in organising research seminars and applying for local and international research grants.

The signing ceremony was followed by a dialogue session themed “Dual Career Pathways of Elite Athletes”. Apart from Mr Shen Jinkang, Head Cycling Coach at the HKSI, the dialogue session also featured Mr Wong Kam-po, world champion and Cycling Coach at the HKSI, Miss Lee Wai-sze, world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, and Mr Chan King-yin, Asian Games gold medallist and Assistant Windsurfing Coach at the HKSI. Currently pursuing undergraduate studies at HKIEd in addition to their training and coaching commitments at the HKSI, the cycling pair is real-life examples of how the vision of dual career pathways can be realised.

Thanks to a donation from Mr Ng Sau-kei, a scholarship scheme has been set up for those elite athletes and coaches recommended by the HKSI for enrolment in HKIEd’s undergraduate programmes.